FT names new weekend editor, news editor

The Financial Times announced Tuesday the appointment of Alec Russell as FT Weekend editor and Peter Spiegel as news editor, effective in April.

Current FT Weekend editor Caroline Daniel is leaving the FT to join Brunswick Group.

“Alec’s leadership of the FT newsroom has been a driving force in the development of new types of journalism and formats,” saidFT editor Lionel Barber in a statement. “He is an outstanding writer and editor whose creative approach will boost FT Weekend’s appeal to our global audience.

“Peter’s coverage of the eurozone and Greek debt crises, and his acute news sense have earned him a worldwide reputation. His return to London comes at a time when the global news agenda is more intense than ever.”

The FT’s news editor since 2012, Russell has led the FT’s coverage around a number of award-winning reporting initiatives, including the Silver Economy and Big Tech at Bay series, which won the ‘Best Business Team’ prize at the 2015 Press Awards. He joined the FT in 2006 as the Johannesburg bureau chief and has since been both comment and analysis editor and world news editor.

His journalism has earned him awards for coverage of the Iraq War, the Balkans wars and business in Africa. He is the author of “Prejudice and Plum Brandy” (1993), “Big Men, Little People: The Leaders Who Defined Africa” (1999) and “After Mandela: Battle for the Soul of South Africa” (2009).

Spiegel, the FT’s Brussels bureau chief since 2010, has been named one of the most influential journalists in Europe. His coverage of the Greek debt crisis and his account of the eurozone crisis in the series How The Euro Was Saved have consistently topped the most-read topics on FT.com this decade.

In 2012, 2013 and 2015 Spiegel and his team won recognition for their eurozone coverage at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.